


A trade

by Gozzer



Series: The new night guard [3]
Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Brief mention of self-harm, Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Mayan Mythology - Freeform, Mayan people, Mild Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22412176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gozzer/pseuds/Gozzer
Summary: The Mayans want to make a deal with the new night guard. And she can't bring herself to say no.
Relationships: Jedediah & Octavius (Night at the Museum), Jedediah & Original Character(s), Octavius (Night at the Museum) & Original Character(s)
Series: The new night guard [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610275
Kudos: 11





	A trade

Amy didn't know much about the Mayans or their culture. The miniatures kept to themselves in their diorama and she didn't quite feel the need to mess with them. Nothing was brought to attention about them and as long as they didn't cause any harm there was no need for her and them to interact. From what Jed and Octavius told her about them, they were rather standoffish to new people. She got a laugh out of the story of the last night guard getting attacked by them.

Every evening Amy would go unlock the miniature glass cases even though the Mayans refused to come out. It didn't feel right to just keep them locked up when the other miniatures get to roam.

This just evening found her opening the Mayan case up first. She could hear the Americans and Romans coming to life behind her as she pushed the sliding glass back. Like every night she offered the small people a smile even if they refused to acknowledge her. But this time when she opened the case several of the Mayans looked up to her. They stared at her even as she offered them a soft smile. One rather bold man held up a spear in her direction.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I have yet to do so, and I don't plan on it." Amy said to the people before turning to go open the other cases. There was a small prick to her hand that was still on the glass case. She pulled her hand back and held it up to her face. A small dart was sticking out of the back of her hand. Pulling out the dart she turned back around.

"That was uncalled for." She wasn't upset but she did drop the dart back into the diorama. The Mayan that shot her was waving his blowgun at the glass and not at her. She tilted her head to the side while looking between the man and the glass. "I'm not going to close the glass. Sorry if it seemed that way."

The little man seemed to understand what she was saying as he put the blowgun away. Coming to an understanding, she nodded to him before going to open the other cases. Jed and Octavius were standing at the edge of the glass waiting for her to help them out. She grinned at them while moving to unlock the glass. For a moment she tapped on the glass with her keys and made a move like she was going to leave them in their. Several protests started up before she could even turn around. With a laugh she slid the glass cases open.

"Don't do that!" Jed waved his hat up at her angrily while stomping a foot.

"That was rather unfair," Octavius said.

"I'd never leave you locked up guys. You know this." She lowered a hand to each of them. They glared for a second before accepting the hands offered. "I'd get bored with my resident trouble makers." Both of them were deposited in her breast pocket.

"We ain't yours!" Jed shouted, not really upset but acting so.

"Well, does feel like it sometimes." Octavius' words got Amy coming to a stop.

"I'm so sorry! You guys should've told me earlier, I don't mean to treat you like that!" Amy felt panic spike in her chest that she'd been mistreating her friends. In no circumstances did she want them to feel less than anyone else.

"Don't worry, my Lady. I did not mean it like that." Octavius said, trying to soothe her rising panic. "I merely meant that you take care of us."

"Ya know, make sure we don't get hurt an' all," Jed said. Amy hesitated for a moment before carrying on with her nightly tasks.

It was quiet between the friends for a while. Amy had let the miniatures out of her pocket to go about their night, but they opted to stay with her at the front desk. Silence reigned as Amy watched Rexy chase around Little Texas because no one was playing fetch. The poor horse was just racing through the lobby and first floor halls to avoid the dinosaur. Teddy was off somewhere with Sacajawea without his horse sadly.

She leaned her head on the counter to watch out the front doors. The night was still and the museum was surprisingly quiet. It left her with little to do and even less to think about that didn't make her chest hurt. She knew this night was going to be a rough one for her even without chaos reigning in the halls.

There was a set of small footsteps coming towards her head that barely had her looking to them. She knew it was one of the miniatures. The figure of Jed came into her field of vision with his hat in his hands. For a moment he only stood watching her before he reached out a hand to tap on her nose to gain her attention. She blinked at him and lifted her head up off the counter. The cowboy tapped his foot on the ground as if trying to figure out what to say.

"Oct and I are gonna, uh, go play with Ol' Rexy. He's been messin' with Texas long enough," Jed said. Amy looked away from him to where Octavius was watching the T-Rex run through the lobby again.

"Alright, let's get you two on the ground then." She held out her hand for the miniatures to climb into. They did so quietly and she lowered them to the ground. Their toy truck was pulled out from under the desk for them to use. "Stay safe."

"We always are, my Lady." Octavius said while sliding into the passenger seat. She merely gave him a nod as Jed climbed into the driver seat.

Silence fell upon her again as the black truck took off after the dinosaur. She put her head back down on the desk to watch the empty lobby once again. Thoughts clouded her mind as she stared out blankly. This was becoming a long night.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any more boring, something came to disturb the peace. Amy blinked at the empty room when something small moved around Rexy's platform. She squinted at the movement as she sat up. Just as she was about to get up a group of miniatures came out of the shadows. The little Mayans scrambled along the floor for the front desk with something dark within the group. Amy pushed away from the desk and got off the chair to crouch down in front of the people.

They came to a stop a few inches away from her. She spied the same man that shot her within the group. But what really caught her attention was the giant spider held a loft between the people. It was obviously dead with its curled up position and apparently the Mayans killed it. It was quiet as the Mayans set the spider down and stepped away.

"Is... Is that for me?" She asked, rather uncertain about the dead thing. The man from before stepped forward to point at her with his spear. He nodded up to her then pointed at the spider. "Well, it's great and all. But why give it to me?"

The Mayan tapped his foot on the ground then pointed at her again. He motioned between himself and his people then the spider and her. A couple of the men behind him clasped arms and shook them. Amy stared down at them for a moment before a smile grew on her face.

"You want to make a deal?" The Mayan man nodded his head at her question. "Okay, what kind of deal?"

A moment passed between them before the Mayans started making planting motions. Amy watched as they mimed planting a seed or something of the sort in the floor.

"You want me to bring you plants?" The first man pointed his spear at her again with a nod. "Sure, I'll figure something out. A couple new additions to the diorama shouldn't hurt anything."

The Mayans cheered and waved their spears above their heads. They pushed the spider towards her once more before heading back in the direction they came from. She smiled after them. They were quite adorable when they weren't ignoring her. She picked up the dead spider and set it down on a piece of paper on top of the desk. To not hurt their feelings she wasn't going to throw it away until dawn.

Now all she had to do was figure out how to get them their crops. She didn't know if bringing something foreign into the museum would bring it to life, but she was going to have to try. Well, she was going to have to find miniature plants first.

The next night Amy came into the museum with a small box and several books. She figured it would be a good idea to brush up on her Mayan history if they were finally going to interact with her. Before she could go about unlocking the dioramas she had to set down the books at the front desk. Behind her she heard Rexy shake out his bones and pressed his muzzle against her back.

"What is that you brought with you tonight, Miss Amy?" Teddy asked while riding up on the other side of the desk.

"Some plants for the Mayans." Amy sat down her history books and grabbed the small box. "And some Mayan history, figured I might want to know a bit more about them."

"I'm sure they would appreciate the gifts. They don't get out as much as the others." Teddy nodded down to her before riding off in search of Sacajawea.

Amy pulled out her keys and made for the Hall of Miniatures. All of them were awake and moving around inside their dioramas; some even watching her enter. She quickly unlocked the Rome and Wild West cases - and sliding the glass back - before heading for the Mayans. The people were watching her warily as she pushed the glass away. She got down on her knees in front of the diorama and put her box on the marble. Several of the people backed away from her while a couple of the men stepped closer. One of them was the man from the day before and another was probably the chieftain. He had a headdress on with several large feathers and a belt with heads hanging around his waist.

"I've brought your plants." She lifted the lid off the box and set it on the marble ground. Inside the box were several corn stalks inside planters. It seemed her idea was correct as the green leaves were no longer glossy plastic. She put a hand in the box and pulled out several of the planters. When she lowered them to the Mayans, the men backed up a few paces.

"Here, they aren't dangerous." The little corn stalks sat innocently in the glass of the diorama. Who she guess was the chieftain stepped forwards to run his hands along the plants. It was quiet as he studied them, but soon he was nodding his acceptance.

The other men crawled into the box to move the rest of the plants. Amy sat back on her heels to watch them move the corn further into the diorama. Several more people came to help in the process and soon nothing but the box was left. Just as she went to stand up the same man that shot her raced forward. A spear was held in his hands. He offered it up to her with both hands.

"Oh, you don't have to give me anything else." Amy said, already shaking her head. The man stomped his foot and urged the spear up closer to her. She gave him a small smile before lowering her hand for the spear. It was set down gently in her palm so as to not stab her. "Thank you. Would you like something in return?"

The man started to shake his head before stopping. A thoughtful look crossed his face. Amy waited patiently as he thought. After a moment he was stepping up the edge of the marble and pointing up to her hair.

"A piece of my hair? You sure?" The man nodded and shook his hand at her hair. Amy smiled and reached up to pluck a couple pieces of hair from her scalp. She lowered the long colored strands down to the man. He started coiling up the stands like one would a piece of rope. Once they were wrapped up he tied them to his waist. "Is that all?"

He nodded to her and started off back into the diorama. Amy got to her feet and spun the spear between her fingers. It was about the size of her palm and rather well made from what she could see. She laughed while putting it into her breast pocket so that it didn't get broken. Turning around, she looked to see if Jed and Octavius were still waiting for her. The cowboy and Roman were standing in the Rome diorama whispering to one another.

"What're you two whispering about? Not murder I hope?" She took the last few steps to place herself in front of them. They looked up to her then to the Mayan's behind her.

"Nah, just wonderin' what ya were doin'." Jed placed his hands on his hips and stared up at her.

"The Mayans wanted to make a deal. They brought me a spider last night in exchange for some plants." She looked over her shoulder to where the small box was slowly being pulled into the diorama. It was useless to her so she wasn't going to stop them from taking it.

"And the spear? What do they want for that?" Octavius asked, watching the Mayans.

"One of them wanted some of my hair." She shook her head at the two miniature. They weren't normally this curious about what she did. "What's this about?"

"About? Nothin, Ams! We're just curious is all," Jed said. She hummed at them before lowering her hand to them.

"You coming with me? I cant promise it'll be fun. Got some history to learn, about the Mayans." The miniatures shared a look before climbing into her palm.

She cupped her hand slightly so they didn't fall when she moved to pick up the box lid from the ground. It was placed in front of the Mayans before she continued on out of the Hall. Jed and Octavius talked to each other as she made for the front desk. She set them down before sitting in the chair and pulling one of the books into her lap. Her legs were propped up on the desk with the book set on her thighs. The little spear she was gifted was plucked from her pocket to allow her to roll it between her fingers.

There was a conversation happening at her feet that she didn't feel the need to add to. She flipped open the cover of the book and scooted further down in the seat to almost be laying down. One hand twirled the spear while the other held open the book. As she grew immersed into the history she felt something climbing along her legs. Peering up from the pages she found Jed and Octavius making their way towards her. She laughed softly but didn't make a move to stop them. They walked over the book until they stood on her stomach. Nothing was said as they settled down to read with her; it wasn't a rare occurrence for them all to read from the same book.

The next night found Amy being summoned to the Mayans. She said her apologies to the Neanderthals before following the small group of miniatures back to their diorama. When the Mayans got back up to their home they motioned for her to come closer. A fire was burning on top of the temple with all of the Mayans surrounding either the fire or around the temple. Amy eyed it curiously before focusing on the chieftain. He was standing before the fire with his hands held up to her.

"What do you want me to do?" It was rather weird for them to want her there for a ceremony. Her reading yesterday had brushed her up on a lot of their history including their sacred ceremonies. The chieftain pointed to the spear in her pocket then made a motion with his hands. It was almost like that of stabbing someone. Amy pulled the spear out of her pocket and held it in her fingers, still not sure what they wanted her to do. The man that gifted her the spear waved for her attention. She looked to him to see him miming stabbing his hand.

"You want me to stab my hand?" The Mayans started nodding and motioning for her to go faster. "Alright, but I'm gonna get blood everywhere." She spun the spear in her fingers and moved it towards her opposite hand. The chieftain started motioning for her to move her hands closer and above the fire. "You want it in the fire?" He nodded up to her.

"Oh, is this like an offering to your gods?" Another nod had her moving. She could feel the small heat of the fire as she put her hands over the top. The small spear was held out to poke her finger when she stopped. "How much do you need?" Too much would make a giant mess and possibly ruin the diorama. The chieftain seemed to think for a moment before holding out a measurement in his hands. They were held apart the width of his body then the length of his torso; it was almost like he was making a box.

"That's a lot for your little fire. And it's going to make a mess that's gonna need to be cleaned." He nodded vigorously in agreement. She sighed and looked back to her hands. It would be easier to make a cut on her wrist than just pricking her finger. She shrugged up the sleeve on her left arm and held the spear over the delicate skin.

Old and faded scars criss-crossed the pale surface. She ignored them in favor of pressing the spear tip into the edge of her wrist and pulling it across the skin. The sting was small and almost non-existent. All of them waited for the blood to start bubbling out of the cut. It beaded on her wrist until she tilted it so the drops fell onto the fire. Loud cheers and howls came from the Mayans as her blood drenched the fire, putting it out. She let several more drops cover the top of the temple before pulling her wrist away.

The spear was wiped off on her shirt and put back in her pocket. She shook her wrist to ward off the stinging as a small amount of blood continued to drip out of the cut. While the Mayans were cheering and celebrating appeasing their gods, Amy stepped away from the diorama. Her cut was going to need a Band-Aid. She said goodbye to the small people before leaving the Hall.

Amy sat down behind the front desk and leaned down to pull out the small first aid kit. She set it on the counter and popped it open. A small amount of blood was staining her palm and wrist from the already clotting wound. As she was wiping away the red mess a familiar little truck came speeding towards her. The dirty tissue in her hand was thrown in the trash so she could offer a hand down to the miniatures. They accepted the help up onto the desk.

"What happened?" Jed raced closer to the wrist resting on the desk top. A drop of blood slid down her wrist.

"Who did this? I shall avenge you, my Lady!" Octavius joined Jed with his sword drawn.

"I did it Octavius." Amy wiped away the blood and opened a Band-Aid. She held one end in her mouth to pull it open fully. The paper was spit back out onto the desk while the miniatures reached out to help her lay the bandage on straight. "The Mayans wanted a blood sacrifice, and I figured it's better I do it before they go capture somebody."

"That ain't fair! Ya shouldn't have ta hurt yourself for them." Jed smoothed out the end of the Band-Aid down on her skin. She left her wrist on the desk while she closed the first-aid kit.

"It's their religion, Jed. You guys read about it with me last night. I'm not going to force them out of their beliefs." She put the Band-Aid package in the trash and leaned back in her seat. "It didn't hurt, and at one point Christians were just as bad in their beliefs. Waging wars over their beliefs." Jed looked away from her and shuffled his feet. When Octavius opened his mouth comment, she carried on. "Roman's are the ones that started Christianity. When they crucified a man. They repressed Christians pretty hard." Octavius frowned in confusion. "After your time as Emperor, General."

"Oct is the King?" Jed asked, looking over at his friend.

"Oh yeah." Amy grinned down at the miniatures even as Octavius started to shake his head in disagreement. "Augustus Gaius Octavius was said to be the first and greatest Emperor of the Rome Empire."

"No, I am merely a general," Octavius said.

"At this point in time." Amy tapped on his chest gently and smiled softly. "How about we read the history of the Roman Empire tomorrow?" The miniatures shared a look before nodding up to her. "And we can brush up on American history at some point as well if you guys want."

"Why the heck not?" Jed sat down on the first-aid kit with Octavius joining him. In agreement, Amy dove into a different conversation with them.

Some nights later and she was back among the Mayans. They had presented her with a scorpion they got from a different exhibit in exchange for some animals. She had another box of miniature items in her hands that she placed on the marble. Several grunts and squeals escaped from the cracked lid. Mayans lifted off the lid of the box and stared down at the small piglets and a few chickens. They were from a farming set she had bought for them. It even came with a little pigpen and chicken coop.

"Take care of them, okay?" The Mayans nodded up to her as they started pulling the animals from the box. Others pulled out the other equipment and followed after those with the animals. Soon Amy was left with another empty box and the same persistant Mayan man. He had taken a liking to her.

"Yes? Did you need something?" She looked away from the other Mayans down to the man. He was staring up at her. A hand was held up to her and then made a lowering motion. She put her hand out in front of him. It took several moments before he crawled up into her palm. She lifted him up slowly so as to not scare him too much. "This all you wanted?"

He shook his head and made a grabbing motion. She lifted him closer to her face but not enough for him to touch her. His arms went out as if to pull her closer. A sigh left her mouth as she guessed what he wanted to do. When she moved him close enough he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. A large grin lit up his face when she moved him back.

"That was nice and all, but it's not going to happen." She watched his face fall at her rejection. "It's not that your small or even a museum piece. I just don't like you in that way. You're still adorable and cute though." The man brightened the smallest bit at her words. He made a motion to her hair like he wanted another strand. "Alright, you can have another one."

She plucked another strand and handed it to him. With the hair in his hands she lowered him back to the diorama. He tied it to his waist and waved up at her before walking further into his home. Amy shook her head at him then left to carry on with her other nightly duties. She could hear Attila and the Huns shouting somewhere further into the museum.


End file.
